Tech that: UK Departure Boards
If you have a train geek in your life, this product is for them!
Available at ukdepartureboards.co.uk
Price: From £184.99 to £384.99
What is it?
Probably one of the coolest and strangest things I’ve reviewed in a while. The UK Departure Board is an LED board which comes in three sizes and allows you to see real-time train service data for any UK train station, including rail, tube, DLR, bus and tram. I know what you’re thinking – why would anyone want this? Good question! Before we start let me begin by saying I know it’s a very niche product for a very small group of people who love technology and trains. Luckily for me, I’m both!
Plus points
• The boards are handmade in the UK with precision and care. The quality really shows. Not often we can say that these days.
• Setup of the board is fairly simple and straight forward. Parts of it did feel a bit jury-rigged but it doesn’t detract from the experience.
• Logging in to the back end of the board gives you a plethora of options to play with to your heart’s content. There are too many to list here but some of my favourites are: being able to cycle through multiple stations at different times of day, the weather widget and the ‘this train is approaching’ warning.
• Almost everything is customisable in granular detail. Even down to the font colour that’s used to display times.
• For an additional subscription fee you can unlock features such as animation effects, icons, a full screen clock option and my favourite feature – voice packs!
• As part of the premium subscription, voice packs serenade you with ‘next train’ announcements, service and station updates. This is made even better as they are voiced by official National Rail and London Underground voiceover artists.
• The newer board which I’m reviewing (Gen 4) has a built-in speaker so no need to plug in an external one to hear announcements.
Nil points
• There’s no two ways about it. This product is expensive, and there’s a justified reason for that. These are hand produced one by one for each order. It will most likely take some time to build up economies of scale to bring the price down as hoped by the manufacturer.
• A recent cyber attack on TFL meant that accessing real-time tuba data from its servers has been halted. As frustrating as that is, it can still source DLR and Network Rail data in the meantime.
Rating: ✡✡✡✡
Verdict: Overall, this product will appeal to a handful of people with a bit of disposable income. If you fall into that slim category and you absolutely love trains, then this is a one-of-a-kind device that is worth the money.
TikTok @daniel_ _Elias
Instagram @daniel_elias
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
